Jodi the new rom-com star, Richard the kilig king?

The surprise TV hit of the season continues to warm the hearts of audiences everywhere since it started airing July 9 and almost immediately caught attention. That was unexpected, with a giveaway title like Be Careful with My Heart, and the typical misadventures of a couple that starts off disliking each other and ending up as lovers.

What was even more unexpected was that the couple was Jodi Santamaria and untested Richard Yap as romantic lead for the first time which meant that Jodi and Aiza Seguerra as her sister would need to deliver the ratings. Although both are excellent actors, it certainly seemed foolhardy to give them that responsibility, especially since Be Careful had a morning airing. What is ABS-CBN trying to do? Committing economic suicide, or proving that there is a market for wholesome teleseryes, a trend it started successfully with May Bukas Pa and 100 Days to Heaven.   

The luckiest recipient of this bonanza is Richard, 45, happily married with two children, whose media exposure has been as commercial model for Chowking, guest appearances in Precious Hearts Romances Presents Kristine, Walang Hanggan and support in My Binondo Girl as the conservative father Chen Sy to Kim Chiu which brought him to Be Careful.

On its first week, critic Nestor Torre called it “bright and breezy” with excellent portrayals from Jodi and Aiza that counteract the “sometimes too stickily fantasticating and coincidental” tendencies so that “the series’ scripting feels truer and less shamelessly melodramatic than many other teleseryes.”

Richard from Chowking commercial model to teleserye star

 When Kantar Media data confirmed Be Careful as daytime leader from 19.7 percent national TV rating in July, to 22.6 percent in August, and all-time national high of 26.4 percent on Aug. 21, it seemed appropriate to beat one’s drums. ABS-CBN called for a press conference with representatives from Aiza and Richard’s families and Jodi caught between both families. So far, the series has had many guest appearances and regulars under directors Jeffrey Jeturian and Mervyn Brondial. Important members on Aiza’s side are Divina Valencia, Sylvia Sanchez and Tom Rodriguez who has given Aiza a kid JM Ibañez as Cho. The widower Richard has children Jerome Ponce, Janelle Salvador and Mutya Orquia playing mute Abby, plus the house staff led by mayordoma Gloria Sevilla with Tart Carlos and Viveca Ravanes, popular stand-up comedians from comedy bars. The cast all stressed the fact that taping the soap was one of the least stressful and most enjoyable they had ever experienced.

It was also announced that a Saturday one-and-a-half hour rewind of the past week of Be Careful would be aired beginning last Sept. 15 to give in to numerous requests from those unable to watch regular airing due to work and schooling. It was no longer a surprise that Kantar Media reported 15.1 percent national TV ratings compared to other shows on that timeslot. We had other questions which director Jeffrey Jeturian, a long-time friend, gamely answered.

We wondered whether the Saturday rewind would subtract from the number of daily watchers, and direk Jeffrey thinks not since the Saturday edition is a reprise of the series from the very start, so its viewers would primarily be those who failed to watch the previous episodes or those who would want to watch a second time.

He also shared with us the amount of work that went into a weekly script; how a creative team headed by Mel del Rosario and Denise O’Hara would coordinate with the directors under close supervision of business unit head Ginny Ocampo, going through feedback sessions and endless revisions to ensure that the tone and spirit of the teleserye are maintained. In addition, Be Careful is the first soap of ABS-CBN shot using high-definition camera, film-style so it has the look and feel of a movie.

Aiza Seguerra (center) with (from left) Sylvia Sanchez and Divina Valencia

He confesses to have been surprised at the response due to the time of the airing, with the realization that if you come up with a good show, people will support it. He maintains that its difference from 100 Days and May Bukas Pa is that the audience of Be Careful cuts all classes (from A to E) and age range (young and old alike). He thinks that the wholesome approach to a teleserye could become a trend because in pitching sessions with management, Be Careful is often used as peg. In addition, he has heard that the other stations are putting up new shows to air at the same timeslot as Be Careful.    

Lastly, direk Jeffrey is happiest that because of the series, everyone is taking notice of Jodi’s talent and she has attained a stature in the industry worthy of her talent.

Is Tom Rodriguez Aiza’s love interest?

(E-mail us at [email protected].)